Peracarida
Calman 1904
Taxonomy
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Crustacea |
| Class | Malacostraca |
| Subclass | Eumalacostraca |
| Superorder | Peracarida |
Distinguishing characteristics
- Possess single pair of maxillipeds (rarely 2-3).
- Mandibles with an articulated accessory process between molar and incisor teeth.
- Carapace often reduced in size and not fused with posterior thoracic somites.
- Carapace used to brood eggs.
- Basal-most segments of legs bear thin flattened plates that enclose a ventral brood pouch known as a marsupium.
Distribution
- Worldwide.
Ecology
- Young hatch at a post-larval stage that resembles the adults but lacks the last pair of legs.